Hellur,

I joined this forum originally for the sole purpose of finding out information on areas around me. I live in South Jersey, I just moved here from Toronto last August. I'm now planning to move again, and I've been thinking that I'd like to move to someplace in Pennsylvania or Washington D.C. as they're close to my family. It's necessary that there is no real need for a car, and that it's possible to travel outside of the city without a car (like a bus station with greyhounds or a train station). So, I'm really hoping to meet people who can tell me about their corner of the world. From the mundane question like 'rent?' to the fun questions like 'where can I go to dance/shop?'.. Any information is useful.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post!

-Ia

Just a small pointer...

This post might actually be read more if you post in the appropriate section. Domesticated is a forum where people share cooking recipes, household tips and such. Not exactly the place to ask for recommendations about where is a good place to live.

I'll be moving this thread for you to a more appropriate venue.

And in response to part of your query... PreZ and I enjoyed Washington D.C. when we visited it a couple years ago. We didn't check out the local goth scene though, plus after about 4 years that will no doubt have changed anyway... but it's a nice city and you can certainly get around quite well with just public transit, as we did. So it would fit your bill of not needing a car necessarily.

Philadelphia had a couple of gothy shops that we visited while staying with a friend, and it seemed like a nice city the short while we were there about 2 years ago. And it has the Mütter Museum, which is made of win.



Lilith

Oh, I thought it fit in 'Domesticated' because a place to live is domestic. ^^; I'm sorry for the trouble.

Thank you for your response! Philly was nice when I visited, but I was only there for a night and so I didn't get to check it out entirely. I'll look forward to planning longer visits. =^^=

[Edit] I honestly didn't even see the regional section!

Did you guys happen to visit the Smithsonian when you were in DC? It's certainly worth it, the art museums in particular. Lots of beautiful, stunning works in there, such as Thomas Cole's "Life to Death' paintings.

I have desperately been trying to get to the Mutter museum for years now. I live in Maryland, maybe an hours drive or so from Philly, and yet I've never been.

IaMonster, If you don't want to stray too far from home, I'd recommend New Brunswick in Central Jersey. The city has a rapidly expanding independent music scene with basement concerts nearly every weekend. You get the benefit of two great hospitals and a huge university. I believe there are Goth/80s nights in the local clubs, but the real appeal is the fact that you can hop on the train conveniently and have access to all of NYC without the NYC cost of living. There's a pretty big theater scene here, lots of local businesses, a good mix of ethnicities, every hobby or interest is represented courtesy of the university, there's a thriving hobby, game and comic book shop if you run to the geek goth side, and so on. For a pisspoor overview of the city you can check out the http://www.newbrunswick.org website. There are goths here, but the scene is pretty quiet.

PS, No, I do not live in New Brunswick, but I have.
--

Lydia, thank you so much for your help! I'll definately look into it.

Iamonster, Heh, no problem, I am an unpaid shill for New Jersey and regional environs. I do realize that I neglected some major points of appeal for New Brunswick:

• Our annual Steampunk convention (http://salonconvention.com/). Last year, Abney Park performed as well as the White Elephant Burlesque Society.
• Our beloved counterculture guru, Jeff Mach, is a resident who puts on such fabulous programs as our very goth-y Wicked Renn Faire and other events (http://www.wickedfaire.com/). This year's is a chocolate themed February Renn Faire based somewhat on Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
• Numerous active and grown-up Pagan groups for the alternatively religious, including Druids, magicians, and Wiccans.
• MangaNext runs in the convention center outside of town, for those of an anime/manga bent.
• Annual Day of the Dead festivities in the spanish quarter.
• Our own independent Goth boutique called Spooky Wear, also in the spanish quarter.

--

Oh my goodness, I think I may be sold for a visit! That sounds spectacular.

However, I've heard that it's not quite urban (as in, you'll still need a car to get from a to b most of the time), from a friend of mine. I've also heard that the area has a high crime rate. Do either of those hold true? Oh, and can you get to these events without a car, via public transit?

IaMonster, New Brunswick proper is urban, and you can get 100% of the things you need inside the city. Not only is there public transportation in town, but it's free. Rutgers has a bus service with a somewhat temperamental service on school breaks and weekends. If you have a bike, the whole area, including the surrounding towns, is easily accessible. I've biked from New Brunswick into Princeton on the old canal tow path, so I didn't even need to cope with sharing the road with other cars. There's also the more standard for-pay public transportation, all conveniently centralized at the train station in town, so if you feel a pressing need to get out of town you can take the bus (or train, depending on where you want to stop) out to the Asian supermarket in Edison, the nice main street area in Metuchen, or for a mall fix out to Woodbridge or Menlo Park Malls. And, naturally, the train goes straight to New York, Princeton, or Phillie. (Yes, I am rather Princeton centric, why do you ask?) We, however, are snobs and therefore have a car because we prefer to buy all our music and DVDs from a local business rather than a chain, so we head to the most awesome source for music and DVDs ever down in Princeton (http://www.prex) and we drive up to Metuchen to get our books local from the most awesome used bookstore ever http://www.raconteurbooks.com. Sadly, I have yet to find either kind of business in town. There's lots of talk, though, and I think we'll see some movement on that front soon.

As far as crime rate goes, yeah, there's crime. It's focused in three places: the immigrant neighborhoods where the pimps and gangs of the town mostly operate and no one will cooperate with the police, the poor neighborhoods around C-town and out into the boondocks where a whole other kind of gang operates, and the petty thievery around the college. I've been in the area a long, long time, my husband has been here his whole life. The only crime we've personally experienced is bicycle theft. Several times. Don't leave your bicycle unattended, especially not over night. There's a professional bike stealing gang, I've seen them at work on CCTV, they're pretty amazing. If crime is at all a concern, or prices, I'd recommend living just over the river in Highland Park. It's cheap, quiet, and a brief walk into the city, or, if you decided to get a place near the free bus stops, no walk at all.

If you want to visit the area and you don't mind steampunk, a kid, or an 80s child with a taste for Goth music, we'd be happy to pick you up from public transit or somesuch and show you around the important highlights. Well, some of them, cause this is a food city and there's no way we could either afford, manage to eat enough, or have the time to show you what the town really has going for it. Time it right and you can have your choice of being shown off at a Pagan event or a nerdly game night at the comic book shop, whichever floats your boat.

I want to stress though, the scene here is absolutely intermittent, a couple times a year there's an event, but there aren't Goth nights at clubs or bars every weekend like you might get elsewhere. You have to take the train into either Phillie or NYC to get that kind of action every weekend, plus side: it's easy and you'll save enough on rent you can afford that kind of train fare.

Lydia, thank you so so much for all of the information! New Brunswick really sounds amazing, and I would be honored if you wouldn't mind showing me around when I am able to be up for a visit. I adore steampunk, I have no problems with kids, and long live the 80s. I would definately love to go to a Pagan event (I've never actually been to one, as I'm a solitary practitioner). But I'd still like to check out the comic book store, too, no event necesssary.

I'm perfectly okay with moderate Goth nights, I used to work in a Goth club in Toronto (bartending) and I went to alot of events (and spent way too much money at them). I've experienced all sorts of 'Goth drama'. So, making a trip for a night once in a while sounds much better than living in walking distance.

Alas, I always come up with more and more questions. What is the job market like there? I currently work in a bookstore, which I love. We're also an independent bookstore (which is also a big bonus, as I'm not a fan of chain stores myself). And, are there any places to work at that are piercing/dyed hair friendly? Also, I've been checking apartment listings, and I keep finding ones that are 800+, is that pretty standard?

IaMonster, If you want to live in New Brunswick, and you're looking at a one bedroom rather than a studio, $800+ sounds about right. However, with the college population, there's a ton of houses for rent where students and others go in on it together. If you just want to try the town out for the summer, you can always find a cheapie summer rental. Apartments are cheaper in Highland Park, which is the nearest and most convenient town.

Right now, the job market has taken a hit like most other places, but I will say we have a lot of independent businesses (although we've lost more independent bookstores than we've gained, ie there are none that I know of in New Brunswick or Highland Park, excepting the Cook/Douglass College bookstore co-op which is student operated and run). I've never noticed any places having trouble with tattoos or piercings, like I said: college town. Depending on your skills, you could check out the local cafes, the ice cream parlor/comic book store (which, and I'll be frank, is not so hot on either), lots of restaurants, tattoo and piercing parlors, there could be an opening at the George Street Co-op for employees, we seem to be getting a lot of turnover there nowadays. If you move in in the summer, you'll have a better chance of getting your foot in the door.

There're enough people longing for a local, independent bookstore, DVD place, or music store to appear, that I bet one will either materialize soon, or you wouldn't have much trouble getting one started yourself. There are a lot of empty storefronts, at least in Highland Park, and the city's seeing turnover in the storefronts, too. Hell, if I could find a quorum of responsible people, I'd organize a used media store/co-op in town myself. I'm sick of schlepping along for it. Anyway, name the day, Mondays are bad, the local businesses that close tend to be closed that day. Like bobba tea? Carnivore?
--

If I knew enough about the other aspects of running a bookstore, and didn't already have a large debt, I'd most certainly look into opening one up. I do hope that one will materialize, my boss has said that he thinks that independent businesses will take over as opposed to large corporations in the coming years.

I'm surprised for you to say that the summer is the time to move up, I would tend to think that most jobs would be taken by the kids at the university, and that rental rates would be higher. It's very good to know. I'm only able to visit places at the moment, my original plan was to move at the end of this year, however, it may have to wait until next.

I've only been able to try one or two flavours of Bobba tea, and I could stand to try more. I do like meat, but I'm finding my taste buds crave more and more vegetarian cuisine.

What is the George Street Co-Op?

IaMonster, Lucky for you, if you're more into vegetarian foods, the George Street Co-op is our local vegetarian natural foods co-op. We carry the finest root beer known to man, and lots of that other green stuff you're supposed to eat. It is a true, died in the wool hippie co-op, with a vegan more-or-less raw juice bar and cafe upstairs. Fortunately, it does not reek of patchouli, but I have been cornered and lectured on the usefulness of various quackery now and then. All kinds of food religions circulate there, but you can get wholesome food so it's worth the occasional run in. There's also an incredible farmer's market in Highland Park (walking distance for everyone).

Anyway, short term leases are available in the summer from kids subletting while they go home, and jobs are left vacant while the kids are out of town, hence a good time to move if you're looking for work.
--

You make New Brunswick sound like such a dream. When is the best time to visit?

IaMonster, I like spring, when it's the most scenic. Your choice of scenery, too, good light on the buildings, greenery, or the college students shedding layers. It also seems pretty laidback in spring. However, the city has very definite seasons, so it wouldn't hurt to see it more than once.
--